500.00 Approvals Prior to Purchase

500.00 Approvals prior to purchase

Departments are required to obtain approval PRIOR to purchase of the following supplies
or services regardless of delegated authority:

510.00 Information Technology Resources

Introduction

At any dollar amount IT purchases can have risks associated with them, such as problems
with regulatory compliance, information security, FERPA requirements, export-control,
system compatibility, system support, or performance degradation of the computing
environment resulting in adverse impacts for other constituents. Unfortunately there
is no price threshold or easy way to define for constituents what type or level of
purchase could pose a risk to the computing environment, other constituents in the
computing environment, or MSU as a whole.

The IT Center is also responsible for tracking and reporting IT purchases to the
Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and can only do so by collecting IT
purchase information.

In order to comply with these requirements and facilitate the easiest process possible,
the IT Center maintains a list of pre-approved purchases at the IT Purchasing Support
web site. MSU-negotiated contracts and volume discounts are made available at this
site for constituents’ direct purchasing whenever possible. The IT Center also offers
custom systems, consultation, and assistance through this site.

The IT Center also provides an automated IT Purchase Request process for the many
exceptions that cannot be pre-defined or predicted. Completing the IT Purchase Request
form available on the IT Purchasing Support site triggers a support ticket and automated
approval queue. The ticket can be tracked by the user as well as the IT staff to
ensure prompt response.

All state purchasing laws and university policies still apply and must be followed.

Policy

Constituents may direct purchase or order MSU pre-approved components from the IT
Purchasing Support site, such as pre-configured computer models, recommended printers,
and licensed software, without submitting a request.

Constituents wishing to purchase any component not listed on the IT Purchasing Support
site shall complete and submit the IT Purchase Request form.

The IT Center shall process and respond to the submitted request within 24 hours.

The IT Purchase Request response shall indicate that:

The purchase is cleared with support from IT (purchasing rules still apply).

The purchase is unsupported but the purchaser may proceed without support (purchasing
rules still apply).

The purchase needs additional review due to its complexity; a response will be forthcoming
(and purchasing rules will still apply).

Constituents purchasing directly or through the IT Center shall comply with all state
purchasing laws and university policy.

Working under the guidance of MSU Procurement Services, the IT Center shall assist
purchasers with complex IT purchases such as those requiring RFP development.